9 states act to cut greenhouse gas emissions

Massachusetts and the eight other states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative have reached an agreement to cut the allowable carbon dioxide emissions from power plants essentially in half by 2020.

Massachusetts and the eight other states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative have reached an agreement to cut the allowable carbon dioxide emissions from power plants essentially in half by 2020.

The cap would be cut from 165 million tons to 91 million tons in 2014, then be further decreased by 2.5 percent per year through 2015.

The new 91 million ton allowance matches the amount actually emitted in 2012.

"This agreement means lower greenhouse gas emissions for the region and increased growth and opportunity in our clean energy economy, a major driver of job creation here in Massachusetts," Gov. Deval Patrick said in a statement.

"It is also a strong statement that this region, which comprises nearly 20 percent of the national economy, is serious about being stewards of our environment and addressing climate change."

Cutting the allowance "is not only good environmental policy, it's great economic policy as well," said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rick Sullivan, who predicted that lowering the cap will generate an estimated $350 million in additional revenue for the state through 2020. That revenue will be invested primarily in helping businesses and residences become more energy efficient.

The changes will boost revenue by raising the price of allowances, officials said.

Kenneth Kimmel, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection, said the changes will have a "very modest" effect on electric bills, boosting a monthly bill of $72 by 39 cents.

A spokesman for Dominion Energy of Richmond, Va., which owns the coal-fired Brayton Point power plant in Somerset, said the company had not yet reviewed details of the agreement.

"This is all new to us," said Dan Genest. "We need time to delve into it and see what it might mean to us."

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently named Brayton Point No. 1 in the state and eighth in New England for toxic emissions, with 617,567 pounds released in 2011.

The agreement must be ratified by each of the nine states — Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont — before it takes effect.